Twister
by FairDrea
Summary: A storm, a crypt and the truth. Pure fluff for the fun of it. Cartoonverse.


A/N: I needed to revisit this couple because I adore them and just felt the urge to write a one-shot. So, inspired by the movie Twister and a storm that was tearing through here last night while I wrote a majority of this, there you have it! A little Lyds/Beej fluff to start the weekened.

 **Twister**

With more frustration than she had felt in quite some time, Lydia Deetz tossed restlessly in her bed, flopping to her back. It was unseasonably hot out and she was home for summer break, dealing with an unwanted irritation that she was having a very difficult time shrugging off.

It wasn't just that it was a sweltering near ninety degrees before noon, or that there was no breeze what-so-ever, or that she was in a room that received zero ventilation and therefore offered no reprieve from the heat.

No. If only it could be that simple. Or if only she'd reconsidered staying on campus with her roommate who was clearly insane. But her father's anxiety fed her anxiety and when he'd muttered something about Delia suddenly feeding into a holistic lifestyle to the extreme - investing in the healing quality of natural oils, switching to entirely organic foods, and refusing to use "modern technology" for the sake of comfort, she'd started packing what few items she would need and caught the next bus out to Peaceful Pines.

What her father had failed to mention over the phone was that organic food meant Delia preparing it and technology included the central air her father had installed when they had first moved in. With every passing moment spent in the oppressing heat, the fetid smell of sweat and stale air nearly suffocating her, she started to think that a summer with her roommate may have not been that bad. Sure, she screamed at her boyfriend into the early morning hours, had a mild cocaine fetish, dyed her hair once a week and was screwing her Sociology professor for the hell of it...often times while Lydia was there….but she could have stomached that for the summer...maybe.

Add to all of this that she hadn't seen even a trace of Beetlejuice since arriving home. That was making her more irritable than anything. The one person who was worth the trip, worth the heat, and worth subjecting herself to Delia on purpose was no where to be found.

Turning onto her side, Lydia sighed deeply and glanced at the mirror, hopeful to see a trace of smoke. But, as yesterday and the day before, the only thing in the mirror was a reflection of her room.

She couldn't call him. She'd set him free over spring break because he had dramatically claimed that, without his "Babes" and partner in crime, the Neitherworld was killing him. She was sympathetic, having missed her long-time friend horribly. She was also furious with Delia at the time so allowing the poltergeist to roam loose for a few months didn't sound like the worst idea. And he'd promised that he would go easy on her dad. Of course, Beetlejuice's promises were never to be taken too seriously, but she had hope that he would, this one time, be true to his word.

He'd been so sweet when she had last seen him, turning down the gross antics and fear-lust to spend every moment with her doing whatever she wanted to do. He'd helped her out in the darkroom, listened to her gush over how amazing her photography class was, humored her with a trip to the mall to update her wardrobe. He was so compliant that he was nearly out of character. She would have been worried...if she hadn't been so busy secretly enjoying his undivided attention.

His behavior was appealing, leaving her feeling an odd, jittery contentment. Her emotions reminded her of nights she would sit at the campus laundr-o-mat, watching her clothing tumble in a slow, continuous circle. They were so comforting that she found herself gravitating toward him more and more often - holding his arm and leaning against him as they walked, sitting closer than necessary when watching movies, prolonging any form of intimate contact. The first time she'd attempted anything of such nature, she'd been anxious and had doubted her behavior. They'd been in the Neitherworld, walking down the main streets, Lydia refamiliarizing herself with the surroundings, when she had caught sight of a new store. The window had been filled with spider trinkets, immediately piquing her interest and she had grabbed a hold of Beetlejuice's hand to pull him across the street. Once the initial excitement had passed and they had resumed their walking...neither had let go. Hand in hand they walked lazily down the streets, as if they had done the same for years.

And there was the time he'd sat with her for over two hours in the cemetery studying a certain marker that had Lydia had always wanted to capture with charcoals, his shoulder pressed to hers, his updrawn leg pairing with hers to provide an angled surface to place her tablet.

It should have seemed strange. A little twisted even. And maybe to someone else it would have been. But to Lydia, feeling what she did for Beetejuice came as naturally as breathing.

Abruptly, she sat up. "The cemetery! Of course!"

Hopping out of bed, she dashed to the dresser and traded her baggy sleep shirt for a pair of black shorts, a maroon tanktop and a pair of black flip-flops. She pulled her hair up and fastened it in a mess of damp curls on top of her head as she quickly left her room, nearly colliding with Delia in the process.

"Morning, Delia," she muttered past the one remaining bobbypin she had yet to place.

"Morning, Lydia!" the woman sang back. "Oh, Lydia dear...are you on your way out?"

 _Quick...think of an unquestionable excuse._ "Yes. Yes, I am. Inspiration has struck and my muse has been missing for months."

"Say no more! One should never stand in the way of art! Try to be home before supper, though. We're having grilled tofu and eggplant salad and the Brewsters will be joining us!

There wasn't a single word in that sentence that was appealing to her. In fact, all three had the makings of catastrophe written all over them.

"I'll try my best!" she called out as she left the house, slamming the door and having no intentions of trying in the least.

Outside, the air was hot and moist, instantly causing a film of sweat to develop between her shoulder blades. Dark clouds gathered low on the horizon, looking suspicious, but not suspicious enough to stop her or enough to make her go back in and check the weather before setting out on foot to the Peaceful Pines cemetery. She had blown a tire on her bike, coincidentally enough on the last day of school and hadn't bothered to repair it, being far too busy with graduation, packing for college and Beetlejuice.

And her destination was just a quick walk down the hill.

By the time she reached the wrought iron archway over the entrance, her shirt was damp with sweat and her bangs clung annoyingly to her temples. For all her effort, Beetlejuice had better be somewhere within the maze of headstones and crypts.

Trees enclosed the grounds, blocking most of the sun but did little to cool the oppressive heat. As she started over the threshold and stepped off the paved driveway, light flickered in the distance and she stilled, looking through the gaps of the tree trunks and waiting. Thunder softly rumbled and a breeze upset the leaves that had been still only moments before.

"Should have checked the weather," she muttered, feeling the first tingles of apprehension. She would visit the usual haunts and start back for home, hopefully before whatever weather creeping towards Peaceful Pines hit. The idea of spending an evening with Claire Brewster and tofu might have been awful, but compared to being stuck in the kind of storm the recent weather could provoke, it wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

She made her way towards the back of the cemetery where mausoleums dominated the sloping landscape. There weren't many, but the few there were impressive - tributes to the wealthy who owned them or the families that founded Peaceful Pines. The trees thinned slightly as she passed through the markers, giving her a better view of the walls of gray that were now churning ominously.

"Please be here," she muttered, hugging herself and quickening her stride.

She rounded a particularly large headstone and gasped, both surprised and relieved to see her best friend perched on bench shaped marker, his elbows resting on his knees and his gaze on the darkening horizon.

"Beetlejuice!"

"Woah! Easy on the-," he shouted out of habit, jerking upright and swiveling towards her. "Babes!"

With a laugh, she ran to him, not slowing until she collided with him, throwing her arms around his neck and closing her eyes to savor the feeling of delicious ecstasy when his closed around her waist.

"You're back!" He pushed her away, looking down at her and Lydia swore she saw something flash in his eyes, something nearly as drugging as the feel of him against her.

"I've been back for two days, Beej," she said, smacking his arm lightly. "Where have you been?"

"Me?" He released her then, taking the welcome chill with him and Lydia was left feeling overheated and disappointed. "Oh, you know...just been hangin' around. Scarin' the locals."

"Oh, really? Scaring my parents wasn't enough?"

Beetlejuice made a face, then shoved his hands in the pockets of his striped trousers. "You know...turns out I can only take so much of 'ol Deals. And nothin' phases that woman."

"Nothing but morbid decorating."

Lydia clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels, unable to tear her gaze from him. He had shirked the jacket that matched his trousers and rolled the sleeves of his maroon dress shirt up to nearly the elbows. The effect was something that made her stomach curl pleasantly. She'd gained several inches over the years and now was nearly the same height as him. It did nothing to take away that whole feel of "larger than life" that he seemed to carry everywhere with him. It was one of the many things she loved about him.

What she didn't love was the nearly unnoticeable thread of tension between them. When she had left for college after spring break was over, the physical distance between them in the days leading up to her departure had been, at most times, absent. There had been no tension, only careful hesitation. Whatever this was, however minimal it was, she didn't care for it one bit.

She tilted her head slightly to the side, regarding him thoughtfully, attempting to read the unreadable.

He looked back, his eyes narrowing. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothin's wrong," he replied in the slightly morose tone he tended to use when something was bothering him.

"That's a lie." She moved closer to him, taking his hands and forced herself not to frown when he flinched. "Beej, what's going on? Something's bothering you. I can-."

She was cut off by a sudden flash of lightning that was followed quickly by a clap of thunder that shook the earth.

They both looked towards the skyline which had grown impossibly dark now, the clouds roiling with frightening speed.

Dropping Beetlejuice's hands, Lydia ventured toward the tree line. The approaching storm was over Peaceful Pines, shadowing the cozy lines of houses caged in by white picket fences with an eerie green. Around them, wind whipped at the trees, tearing the leaves from their branches. Lydia swept an impatient hand through her bangs, pushing them away from her eyes and holding them in place. She suddenly wished she had her camera. Opportunities like this never came along very often unless they were chased down.

"This ain't good."

Lydia glanced to the side where Beetlejuice now stood, his pensive gaze fixed on the sky.

"Did ya check the weather before you headed out here?" he asked.

"No...I-."

 _Just wanted to see you._

"I didn't think to do it. The thought kind of occurred to me while I was walking down this way."

"You walked?"

"Yeah...my bike-."

Another flash illuminated the sky, striking a field near by and Lydia jumped, turning towards Beetlejuice as the deafening sound of thunder echoed through the afternoon air, nearly drowning out the slow, building wail of the towns sirens.

The shifting clouds started to funnel downward.

"That's a-," Lydia breathed, staring in wide-eyed wonder at the deadly phenomenon.

"Twister," Bettlejuice finished for her.

He suddenly grabbed her hand and started pulling her away from the line of trees, back towards the mausoleums.

"Beetlejuice, wait! I want to see it!" she protested, trying in vain to pull her hand free.

"You've seen enough," he shouted over the sounds of the siren and the quickly building rush of wind.

She started to argue with him again, but a piece of hail smacked against her arm and as several more pelted down around them, she decided he was right. She had definitely seen enough.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Lydia laughed, staggering to keep up with him. "If I die, then we can hang out all the time!"

He rounded on her so quickly that she was unable to stop herself from colliding with him. He stared down at her, his hair whipping around his face.

"Don't…" he said, his voice dangerously low, "joke about somethin' like that, Lyds."

She nodded, her voice an uncomfortable lump lodged in her throat. Even if she could speak, she had no idea what she would say. He'd joked about them taking over the Neitherworld before, numerous times. Apparently now, something was different.

He pulled her past a majority of the stout structures, lengthening his stride until they were running through the onslaught of quarter sized hail to an older, larger mausoleum tucked away against a low hillside.

The wind was pulling at them now and Lydia knew that if she turned to look, she would see the twisting wall of gray and black closing in on them.

The rusted hinges of the iron gate groaned as Beetlejuice pulled them open to get to the heavier, bronze door. Feeling slightly panicked, Lydia grabbed the "s" shaped handle, helping him tug at the cumbersome door. It gave after a brief struggle, slowly swinging outward and they dodged inside.

"Get towards the back," Beetlejuice instructed, working to close the door and secure the bolt.

Lydia quickly did as he asked, making note of the few stained glass windows that sat high on the wall, letting in enough light for her to see where she was going. There were none towards the back, where it would be safest, and it was there that she hunkered down, pressing herself into the corner.

The wind howled furiously outside, and for every time she could remember being told that a tornado sounded like a freight train, she couldn't believe just how accurate those statements had been. Hail was hitting the windows, the sharp rap of each piece echoing in the enclosed space.

Something slammed into the building, scratching the stained glass and Lydia cried out softly.

"Beej, where-."

"Right here, Babes."

She felt the telltale chill of his aura and turned towards it, clutching at him and burying her face against his chest. Another loud "bang" and this time the window gave, shattering as a branch came through it, splinters of wood and shards of glass littering the dirt floor.

Beetlejuice turned with her, shielding her body with his to protect her as the storm raged as much as it could within the confines of the tomb. It was only a handful of minutes - but the howling wind, roar of thunder and the way everything seemed to shake around them made it feel like a very questionable forever.

And then the rain came, sweeping in through the broken window. The terrifying rush of sound died away and what was chaos ebbed into a phantom calm.

Lydia relaxed in Beetlejuice's arms, but did not pull away.

"You okay?" he asked, not making an attempt to move either.

She nodded. "I'm fine. You?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm alright. Lyds-."

She refused to speak, holding her breath in anticipation of what he was going to say.

"If you died...there's no guarantee we'd get to keep being...us. And with you bein' gone at college...I've had a lot of time to think...about us."

His arms tightened and tears stung her eyes hotly.

"Turns out being free of the Neitherworld is about as boring as being stuck there. But here...the Neitherworld...they were only boring when you weren't there, Babes. Looks like the only fun thing about my life is you."

Lydia pulled back then, smiling tremulously up at him. "You could just say you love me, Beej."

Beetlejuice didn't blush or look flustered very often. On the rare occasions that he did, Lydia found it endearing. His grin was slow and somewhat reserved. "Yeah...well...you know me, Babes. Can't ever do things the easy way."

She lifted a hand to his face, trailing her fingertips over the day-old stubble along his jawline. "Just this once, maybe?" she coaxed.

He captured her hand, holding it tightly as he leaned closer, his hawk like nose brushing hers. "You know I love you, Lyds. You've known for a while."

"Knowing it and hearing it are two different things, Beej." The space between them was, bit by bit, disappearing. "I love you too."

"Took ya long enough."

"Shut up, Beej."

She grabbed fistfuls of the satiny fabric of his shirt and pulled him down until his cool lips slanted possessively over hers. She expected something soft and explorative but he was hungry, adamant and dominating, moving her back until her shoulders met the floor and his body was pressed intimately against hers.

There was no stopping what they'd started, something that had started years ago now. Everything had been leading up to this moment. They may have been unaware that they were following the steps of an intricate dance that would bend and twist every rule in the living world and Neitherworld. Or maybe under the surface they'd known all along just how much one couldn't live without the other.

"We probably shouldn't do this here, Beej," Lydia breathed, arching against him with a gasp as his teeth roughly scraped along the column of her neck.

"I'd do this with you _anywhere,_ " he muttered, his breath cold against her ear.

With a laugh, she took his face between her hands and forced him away from her neck. "Maybe," she purred, catching his lips in a brief kiss, "we take this somewhere else?"

Beetlejuice attempted to return to his pleasant way of distracting her from caring but she held him fast, laughing again at his sound of frustration.

"I should really get home, let Delia and dad know I'm okay. But after that-."

"Keep talking," he said, turning his head and nipping playfully at her fingertip.

"I'll call you back."

"Promise?"

"Absolutely."

"Lay those B-words on be then, Babes."

She sat up, smoothing her hands over his shirt and humming softly. It really was a shame this couldn't have happened somewhere else. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," she leaned close to him, giving in to the temptation to kiss him one last time, savoring the touch of heat laced cold that sent a rush of longing through her. "I love you, Beetlejuice."

"Love you too, Lyds. Be seein' your gorgeous self later."

A crack of non-threatening thunder dismissed him back to the Neitherworld and Lydia sighed, allowing herself a brief moment to melt against the cool marble. Oh, how that ghost of hers could kiss...how he could make her feel so alive, so vibrant.

How he could make her feel so much more.

Suddenly impatient for that 'so much more', she pushed herself up and left mausoleum, using her entire body to push the door open. The cemetery grounds were littered with debris, wet blades of grass glittering under the afternoon sun that the clouds had retreated from. Thunder rumbled - a faded reminder of the danger that was now past.

Smiling, anticipating an evening with Beetlejuice, Lydia started for home with every intention of not only spending the night in his arms but also coercing him to juice up something edible. Knowing him, it would be underwear...but that thought only made her laugh and think that she would take edible underwear over tofu and eggplant salad any day.


End file.
